I am considering the purchase of a foreign-built yacht that I would like to operate as a charter yacht in California. The boat is now U.S.-flagged with a MARAD waiver to allow it to operate in U.S. waters as a “six-pack” charter vessel. I have an MCA 200-ton Master of Yachts license and have been running large BVI- and Cayman-flagged charter yachts for more than 15 years. I am a U.S. citizen, but I have never needed a Coast Guard license, since I have never run charter yachts in U.S. waters. The seller of the boat that I am considering told me that for a foreign-built yacht that operates under a MARAD waiver, the captain can command the yacht under an MCA license without the need to acquire a U.S. Coast Guard license. Is he correct?
Our reader raised a question with a lot of charter business “shop talk,” so we should probably provide a little background before answering his specific question. We have discussed chartering regulations quite a few times in this column — addressing issues such as operator licensing, vessel construction and vessel inspection — but a brief review will be helpful.
A vessel that carries passengers...
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I am currently in the process of obtaining a Captain’s position on board a US flagged vessel of 130 feet. The license I have is a MCA Master 3000 ton , however the boat will not charter while in US waters. From what I understand it is fine to operate as master as long as no chartering takes place in US waters including of course USVI’s. It will however charter in the Caribbean and Bahamas. Is this the case or will i need a USCG license in order to operate as Master in command?